A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, and continue leaving reviews, because they are much appreciated! (◠ω◠) Also, so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I was being super lazy/busy (cause that makes sense) so it took me a while. Anyways, here ya go. (Also, for all the loyal followers of this story, go check out my new one, A Burning Heart, which is a little like this one. Lol, you'll just have to go check it out yourself XD)
Chapter Seventeen
When Natsu woke in the morning, the first thing he heard was soft breathing that wasn't his own. He pushed himself to a sitting position and cracked his sore neck from side to side, wincing from the stiffness. Gray was asleep in his bed, his back facing the window.
It looked about six, the sun just beginning to show itself, mist creeping across the ground, and rays of sunlight catching in the hollow shells of old buildings and shards of glass littering the streets. The dead were roaming aimlessly again, and the fence they bumped into rattled ever so slightly in the wind.
Natsu sighed and hugged his legs to his chest, gazing out the window, which was fogged from the mist. Down in the guard stations on top of the fence, he could see two boys sitting in the chairs, their feet propped up on the edges of the wood, binoculars in their hands. Besides them, there were few people out this early.
One gardener was drawing water from dug-out well in the courtyard, and a few extra people were out walking the grounds, guns slung over their shoulders—probably Makarov's extra security, in case Zeref decided to attack them straight on.
The thought of Zeref made a shiver go down his spine, and Natsu pulled the discarded blanket back onto his lap. He thought back to what he'd said the night before. You probably don't remember me, do you? After all, the light was shining in your eyes.
Natsu rested his chin on his knees and stared at the plain blue fabric of the couch armrest. I remember it now... The nightmares were real. He was the one who was in that room... He was the one who...
He shivered again and buried his face in his knees, suppressing the memories. I need to take a walk...
When Gray woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Natsu was not on the couch. He pulled himself out of bed, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He took several deep breaths. Of course Natsu was fine. He probably just went to breakfast. He was being much too paranoid.
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Gray went into the bathroom and washed his face. When he had changed into a fresh set of clothes, he exited his apartment and headed for the stairs. People were moving about, chatting an laughing normally. Gray guessed everyone was in high spirits after their victory the previous night.
Making his way through the throngs of people, Gray swiped two apples, sticking one in his pocket. He scanned the dining room for Natsu, but it was noticeably devoid of a spiky pink head. Frowning, Gray turned and headed back out into the hallway, looking out the windows.
"Gray?" Gray jumped and turned to see Erza giving him a strange look. "What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, Erza, hey. I was, uh, looking for Natsu. Have you seen him around?"
Erza nodded. "I saw him leaving earlier, but..." She frowned. "I thought you were with him, and the two of you were going out on a mission."
Gray cursed under his breath. "Thanks, Erza. I gotta go." He turned right and slammed through the door out into the chill morning air, headed for the gates. When he was about three feet from them, however, they opened, and Natsu walked through, tucking his ID card in his jeans pocket.
Gray glared at him, grabbing him by the collar and, ignoring his protests, dragged him through the doors and into the closest closet. "What the hell, Natsu?!" he demanded, slamming him back against the wall and knocking over a row of brooms.
Natsu gave him a blank look. "What? Why are you so mad?"
"Why am I mad?!" Gray exploded, throwing his hands up in the air. "We only just made it back from that tower last night, and you and I both know that Zeref is still a very real, very big threat, and you just decide to go out by yourself? What were you even doing out there?!"
"I just... needed to blow off some steam," Natsu said, his eyes downcast. Gray paused when he heard the underlying pain and fear in Natsu's tone, and he quickly grabbed the other boy by the shoulders, scanning him over. "What's wrong? You're not hurt, are you?"
Natsu shook his head. "I'm fine. I just... had to shoot a few. I'm a lot better now."
Gray stood back and looked at him, judging his expression to see if he was telling the truth. Finally, he sighed. "Okay. Okay," he said again. "How many did you get?"
"Sixty," Natsu said quietly, and Gray's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Jesus. How long were you out there?"
"Not long," Natsu replied evenly. "They were all just... lined up."
Gray sighed again. "Okay. Well, have you eaten anything?"
Natsu shook his head, and Gray pulled open the closet door and started walking. He reached in his pocket and tossed Natsu the apple over his shoulder before turning to look at him. "I ate already, so you go get something, and then come meet me in my apartment." He looked back to the front, and when Natsu didn't move away, he added, "We need to talk."
Natsu walked up the stairs clutching the hem of his shirt tightly. He had eaten and was now heading to Gray's apartment, but his stomach was a mess of nerves. Of course he knew they had to talk about it at some point, but that didn't stop the butterflies from taking flight in his stomach.
He made his way up the stairs slowly, trying to buy himself enough time to buck up and stop the shaking of his hands. He reached Gray's apartment all too soon, however, and found himself standing in front of the door, waiting. He took a deep breath. Another. Okay. I can do this. Reach out and knock.
He did as he had instructed himself and knocked twice, taking deep, even breaths, which did little to stop the hammering in his heart. Gray answered a few seconds later, and Natsu forced himself to meet his eyes. They were as blue as ever, and stray, wavy locks of raven hair hung in front of them, and Natsu wanted to brush them back and— Dammit. This is not going well.
Gray stepped back and let Natsu past him before closing the door again, leaving them alone. Natsu stood by the couch, too nervous to sit but not nervous enough to pace. Gray stayed by the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed.
"So," he said after a few tense minutes of silence, "if you're not going to say anything, I am. I'm really sorry about, you know... the kiss. We were all in danger and I was really panicked, and it was in the heat of the moment—I mean, not in the heat of the moment, but it was done quickly, and, well, er..." He was stammering and blushing, and Natsu thought the combination looked quite good on him.
"It's fine," he said before Gray could babble any more (even thought it was rather cute.) "Good, actually."
"F-fine?" Gray stammered. "G-g-good?"
"Fine," Natsu confirmed with a shake of his head. "Good."
They looked at each other for several seconds. Natsu took a deep breath. "Gray, what am I to you?"
The question echoed in Gray's mind for several seconds. What am I to you? He blinked. "You... That is, you're..." He ran a hand through his hair, cursing his inability to get his words out the way he wanted to. Looking at the ground, he clenched his fists. "You... You mean a lot to me," he said finally. Natsu was quiet.
"When you get hurt, I... worry about you a lot. Being around you makes me feel crazy, and happy, and mad, and angry all at once, and I never know what to think or say, and it drives me absolutely insane, but, at the same time, I just want to be closer to you..."
He growled and tugged a hand through his hair again. "I don't know exactly what you are to me, but I do know a few things. I know that if you were hurt, I would go to the ends of the earth to hunt down whoever did it. I know that being without you feels like I'm missing a piece of myself."
"Gray," Natsu said quietly.
"I know that I have strong feelings for you. I know that the world would be a darker place if you were gone."
"Gray, stop," Natsu said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled. "I've heard more than enough."
They were so close, Gray would only have to move forward an inch and their lips would touch. His mind was spinning and his heart was racing a mile a minute. Natsu grasped Gray's hands tightly in his own. "Whoa," he said, swinging his arm—and Gray's in turn—out to the side. "Your hands are really cold, Gray."
Gray laughed. "Idiot." He grabbed Natsu and pulled him into a tight hug. He rested his chin on the top of Natsu's head and closed his eyes. "You're so warm..." he sighed out, and it was true. Being this close to Natsu made Gray feel like he was standing in front of a fireplace, warming his hands above the flames. He buried his nose in Natsu's hair and inhaled his campfirey scent. Being this close to him was like a dream, after so long of keeping himself at a distance.
With Natsu's arms wrapped around him, Gray felt like he was surrounded by warmth.
"Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?" Natsu asked teasingly against his shoulder.
Gray smiled. "Maybe, if you're lucky. But I don't quite recall you asking me."
Natsu rolled his eyes and pulled back slightly to look Gray in the eyes. "Fine, Ice Princess." He smiled, sending butterflies skittering in Gray's stomach. "Will you be my boyfriend?"
Gray answered by pulling him close again. "I thought you'd never ask," he whispered in his ear, and for a while they stayed like that, pressed together in the center of Gray's apartment, simply holding each other.
About an hour later they were snuggling on the couch, Natsu curled up in front of Gray like a kitten, resting in his arms. Their legs were tangled together, and Gray absently messed with a strand of Natsu's sakura hair. He had to wonder, no matter how ridiculous it was, if his hair really was naturally pink. Normally people who dyed their hair had thick, course strands, but Natsu's hair was silky soft, and Gray could run his fingers through it for hours and never get tired of the feeling.
Natsu looked up at him and smiled that toothy grin of his, and Gray almost died from how adorable he looked. He bent down to kiss the tip of Natsu's nose, making the boy blush. "Wha-what was that for?" he stuttered.
Gray grinned. "You're just too cute."
Natsu's face burned a brighter red and he buried his face in Gray's shoulder. "Shut up. I am not cute..."
Gray only chuckled, closing his eyes with a yawn.
"Tired?" Natsu asked. Gray nodded. "A bit."
Natsu smiled. "I can go if you want to sleep."
Gray shook his head. "No, I can't sleep now or I won't be able to tonight. Actually, we should probably go downstairs. Gramps probably wants to give us some work."
"Yeah," Natsu sighed. "You're right. But... I'm a little nervous."
"Nervous?" Gray asked, peering down at him. "Why?"
"Because." Natsu fiddled with the hem of his shirt nervously. "I know your brother doesn't like me very much, and I haven't even met your sister, and what will they think if we tell them that we're, ya know..." Gray pressed a finger to his lips, silencing his nervous rambling. "We can wait to tell everyone, if you want. But I'm sure they'd be fine with it. And, actually, my siblings are very... fond of you."
"Really?" Natsu asked, grinning. Gray nodded. "Yep. They actually were egging me on to ask you out... It was very annoying."
"Well, it all worked out in the end, right?"
'Ri—" Suddenly, someone banged on the door.
"Gray, it's fucking twelve o'clock. What the hell are you doing? You better not be asleep in there!" It was Lyon, and Gray's eyelid ticked in irritation.
He untangled himself from Natsu. "Look natural," he said, and Natsu quickly righted himself, snatched a magazine, and flipped it open. Gray answered the door, glaring at his brother. "What the hell do you want, Lyon?"
Lyon's eyes shot past him to Natsu, and a sly smirk appeared on his face. Gray quirked an eyebrow in irritation. "Oh, sorry," Lyon said. "I didn't realize you two had finally started screwing."
Gray shoved him angrily, blushing. "Shut the fuck up, Lyon. We were just talking."
"Oh, realllly?" Lyon's smirk grew. "Then why is Natsu reading that magazine upside down?"
Gray face-palmed. Fucking Natsu... "Because he's an idiot."
"Mmhmm, sure," Lyon said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Anyway, Makarov wants you both downstairs. He needs Natsu in the infirmary and you in the armory."
"I thought I wasn't allowed in the armory," Gray said, raising an eyebrow. "Y'know, after last time."
Lyon shuddered slightly. "Ugh, don't remind me... Anyway, it's only because they're short on hands. He needs you to help make bullets."
Gray sighed. 'Fine. We'll be down in a few."
Lyon left, and Gray shut the door with another sigh, sagging against the door. "Have I mentioned how much I hate being related to him?"
Natsu laughed, setting down his magazine. "Let's go, Ice Princess."
As they walked down the stairs, Natsu asked, "What happened with you and the armory, anyway?"
Gray shuddered. "Trust me, you do not want to know."
A/N: FINALLY THE CONFESSION HAPPENED. YOU GUYS BETTER FREAKING LOVE ME NOW!